Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Minister for Finance is in the courts concerning the unsubordinated bondholders sharing responsibility. He wants to begin discussions with the European Central Bank regarding a large payment due for senior bondholders in Anglo Irish Bank. Formally, he has pointed out the pricing of these loans is too high, which has been generally accepted by the European Council. Some assume we are getting money for nothing. Obviously, we have to pay it back, albeit at too high a price.

The lending countries have to give their agreement to any reduction in the interest rates payable on these loans. While the majority want a reduction, some do not. All countries recognise that Ireland can be held out as a demonstration of how this facility can actually work to get a country back in charge of its own economic affairs. We have not given up in getting an agreement on an interest rate reduction. It was agreed in principle. All the countries involved accepted that the truth of the scale of what one is dealing with should be known before any further measure could be made. That is why the bank stress tests were important.

The point is that all the lending countries have not given their agreement. The condition requested-----

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